New Haven reads like a city-sized sketchbook. The nine square plan sets the frame, and the Green keeps the center. Early churches, brick fronts, and civic landmarks open the story.
Gothic and Beaux Arts make the civic core feel grand. City Hall’s Victorian silhouette anchors the block, and Union Station’s great hall welcomes travelers with classic symmetry.
Collegiate Gothic gives the campus its drama. James Gamble Rogers stitched towers, courtyards, and chapels into streets that feel timeless and close to the hand.
Modernism turns the page on Chapel Street. Louis Kahn’s first major museum commission, the Yale University Art Gallery, faces his last, the Yale Center for British Art. Side by side, they show how light and structure can shape a city block.
Brutalism leaves a bold mark. Paul Rudolph’s Art and Architecture Building and the Temple Street Garage turn concrete into sculpture. Marcel Breuer’s former Pirelli Building now lives on as Hotel Marcel, a net zero reuse with a clear future.
Contemporary glass meets New Haven craft. César Pelli’s studio, long headquartered here, adds a refined clarity to the skyline and ties the city to global design.